Hi again and welcome back to Seattle Learning Academy's American English pronunciation podcast.

My name is Mandy and this is our 206th episode.

Today I want to talk about the contraction, I'd, I apost apostrophe, E, which can be used to contract either I would

or I had.

I notice that some contractions are embraced by non-native speakers much more than others.

For instance, many of my students willingly use don't for do not or won't for

will not. However, as I've mentioned in previous podcasts, many non-native English speakers don't like the contraction, can't.

I'd is another contraction people shy away from. Just like can't, though,

I'd is an important contraction. One of the biggest benefits of using contractions is that they

help the rhythm of your spoken English sound more fluent. Contractions often allow us to remove an entire

syllable of function words. This is true in both of the contractions, I would, two syllables,

becoming I'd, one syllable, and I had two syllables becoming I'd, one syllable.

Let me be absolutely clear that the contractions for both of these words is I'd, pronounced

exactly the same.

We rely on context and the grammar of the rest of the sentence to tell which contraction we're using.

I'd can be especially tricky to pronounce because we have special linking rules when we link from the D sound into either an L sound or an N sound.

Remember in the past when I talked about lateral aspirations and nasal aspirations?

I'm going to focus on I'd representing I would today, and I'm going to link it into the

word like because it makes a nice example of how tiny and how grammatically important that little D sound

of the contraction is. Listen to the two following sentences and see if you can hear the difference.

I like bacon. I'd like bacon. Could you hear it?

The first sentence, I like bacon, states a preference, while the second sentence, I'd like bacon,

...